The Bane Of My Existance
by coyearth
Summary: Rewrote it. Added detail and another memory. If you haven't read the previous story, then ignore this message, and the one at the beginning. Goldshard's last thoughts as she's dying.


**Yes, I wrote this before. My first story, in fact. But I recently re-read it. I realized that not only did I fail to include much detail, I even forgot a part. So I rewote this and deleted the other. I hope it's better than the first. Happy reading. :)**

Her ragged breathing filled the stony silence, Snare's snarl still ringing in her ears. She could feel her heartbeat slowing as blood flowed freely, matting her golden fur. Her eyes flickered open and she groaned softly. The sight of a dead Snare relieved her, but sickened her at the same time.

Her sides rose faintly as she fought for her breath. She tried to remember the days before and after she had Pearpelt. They were good memories, but over time, they grew sour.

oOoOoOo

_A young golden rat ran down a slope, her feet itching to catch a crawler. She skidded to a stop as a larger gray rat stepped in her path. She ran into him, turning in the process, and her side hit him. She heard him gasp softly, but when she straightened up to meet his gaze, he seemed unruffled. She told herself not to look away from his warm eyes._

"_I'm sorry." She stated bluntly._

"_No. It was my fault." The male said, his smooth voice washing over her._

_She finally did look away. She didn't say anything, but stepped around him. She froze as he spoke once more._

"_Where are you going…" He let the sentence linger._

"_Goldshard." She replied softly._

"_A pleasure, Goldshard. I'm Snare."_

Snare… _She smiled slightly. _"_I'm going hunting." She said quickly, noticing that he had began to look curious when she didn't answer right away._

"_So was I." He said, sounding a little surprised. "Would you like to hunt together?" He offered, taking a step closer._

_Goldshard felt herself nodding. She blinked before lowering on four paws again. She raced down the path, Snare keeping pace. His fur gently brushed against hers._

oOoOoOo

_Goldshard approached the entrance to her den. Her thoughts were on the gnawer she was going to meet. Her thoughts were always on him. His face was in her dreams. She was falling for him, she knew. She slowed to a stop when she heard voices._

_"Poor dear. It's a shame she has fallen for _him._" Goldshard recognized the voice, but couldn't place it._

_She blinked. _Who were they talking about?

_"Well, Goldshard was always naive." Her sister said._

_"You need to talk to her before she falls completely." The first voice said._

_"I fear it's too late." Her sister sounded weary._

_"Poor dear…how's the food been going for you?"_

_Goldshard was furious. She seethed as the two gnawers walked away from her. She tried to figure out their conversation. _What are they talking about? Snare is so kind to me. _Her eyes widened. _What do they know that I don't?

oOoOoOo

_She ran towards the cave and entered, wheeling around. She heard Snare's quick paw steps and soon saw his handsome face staring fondly at her. She grinned. He entered slowly and crossed the floor to touch his nose to hers._

_"Mates." He murmured. "How does it feel?"_

"_Perfect." She responded. As night was falling, the cave was darkening. Soon, they were almost in darkness. She could still see his outline. His eyes shone in the dark. A sudden shiver shot down her spine as the temperature fell along with the light._

_Snare eyes softened. He moved closer. His thick fur kept her warm for the rest of the night_.

oOoOoOo

_A small gasp came from Goldshard's mouth. The…Bane? Her youngest son, who was wriggling around with his siblings, was pure white. There was only one white rat. That white rat was the Bane. But she? The mother of such a monster? She shuddered at the thought of it. She gently nosed her babies towards her stomach. She looked up as Snare entered._

_He stopped, his paw raised to take a step. His tail lashed. A slightly malicious grin spread on his face. A grin that frightened her. "The Bane." He whispered, though it wasn't a question._

_Goldshard nodded. She looked down at her other children, hoping he would comment on them, but mainly to avoid his power-hungry gaze. Her hint didn't work._

_"Who would have thought that I would be the Bane's father?" He cried out joyously. "We need to name him. A suitable name. One that strikes fear in all hearts…"_

_ "I've given him a name already." She said softly._

_"What?" He asked._

_"I've given him a name already." She repeated, louder._

_He raised a brow. "Let's hear it."_

"_Pearlpelt." She murmured, her gaze locked on her white son. _

_He scoffed and she looked up sharply. "Pearlpelt?" His eyes narrowed. He exhaled sharply through his nose. _

_Goldshard looked away once more, directing her youngest daughter for something to do. After a while, he snorted. "Not that his name matters. Everyone will call him the Bane anyway." He growled softly and left. The room seemed colder._

oOoOoOo

_She always knew, by his rippling muscles, that he could protect her. She never once thought that you could, that he _would_, hurt her. Several wounds bled lightly, caused by his doing. But she didn't let that get in her way. She took a deep breath and lunged once more. _

_Snare threw her against the wall and she gasped. In the corner of her eyes, she saw Pearlpelt in the hole she had put him in. She doubted Snare would hurt him, but she couldn't be certain. He had never been like this before._

_She heard a soft cry before she heard a crack. She sobbed loudly. Another one of her children murdered. By their father. "Please…" She begged. Her last two children were confused, huddling together._

_Snare growled before finishing off the other two, breaking their necks as well. The cracks were deafening. Goldshard closed her eyes and crouched, hoping the floor would just swallow her whole. _

_His paw steps faded away, but not before he murmured, "Pathetic." _

_She opened her eyes slowly. Pearlpelt had climbed out of the hole and was racing towards her. "_Ma-maa!_" He screeched, sounding absolutely terrified._

_She curled her tail around him and brought him close. Her blood stained his white fur. How could such an innocent baby be a monster? Snare was the monster. _

oOoOoOo

She opened her eyes, feeling a presence near her. She gasped and her gaze flickered to see a human boy. He was different than the humans down here. An Overlander. The warrior. Sent to kill her baby.

Her face twisted up in pain. He couldn't…

"Don't…" She choked on the word and her breathing stopped. Her body stilled. Blood still flowed, filling the cracks around her mangled corpse.


End file.
